There are many ways that you can encourage your child to become a reader. Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to make sure that you are keeping on track:

For Babies (6 weeks to 1 year)

Do I provide a comfortable place for our story time? Is my child happy to be in this place?Am I showing my child the pictures in the book? Am I changing the tone of my voice as I read to show emotion and excitement?Am I paying attention to how my child responds? What does she especially like? Is she tired and ready to stop?For Toddlers (1 to 3 years)

All of the questions above, plus:Does my child enjoy the book we are reading?Do I encourage my child to “pretend read,” joining in where he has memorized a word or phrase?When I ask questions, am I giving my child enough time to think and answer?Do I tie ideas in the book to things that are familiar to my child? Do I notice if he does this on his own?Do I let my child know how much I like his ideas and encourage him to tell me more?Do I point out letters, such as the first letter of his name?For Preschoolers (3 and 4 years)

All of the questions above, plus:Do I find ways to help my child begin to identify sounds and letters and to make letter-sound matches?For Kindergartners (5 years):

All of the questions above, plus:Do I find ways to help my child begin to identify some printed words?Do I let my child retell favorite stories to show that she knows how the story develops and what’s in it?For Beginning First-Graders (6 years):

All of the questions above, plus:Do I give my child the chance to read a story to me using the print, picture clues, his memory—or any combination of these ways that help him make sense of the story?Remember: Children learn step by step in a process that takes time and patience. They vary a great deal in what holds their interest and in the rate at which they make progress.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

The first activities in the list below work well with younger children. As your child grows older, the later activities let him do more. But keep doing the first ones as long as he enjoys them.

Look through the whole picture book with your child. Ask him what he thinks the story is about. Tell the story together by talking about each page as each of you sees it.Ask your child to identify objects, animals, or people on each page. Talk with him about the pictures, and ask him if he thinks that they are like real life.Have your child tell another child or family member a story using a wordless picture book. Doing this will make him feel like a “reader” and will encourage him to continue learning to read.Have your child create his own picture book with his drawings or pictures that you help him cut from magazines.Using wordless picture books can help improve children’Rhyme with Me: It’s Fun, You’ll See!

For children ages 3 to 6

Rhyming activities help your child to pay attention to the sounds in words.

What You Need

Books with rhyming words, word games, or songs

What to Do

The first activities in the list below work well with younger children. As your child grows older, the later activities let her do more. But keep doing the first ones as long as she enjoys them.Play rhyming games and sing rhyming songs with your child. Many songs and games include clapping, bouncing and tossing balls, and playing in groups.Read rhymes to your child. As you read, stop before a rhyming word and encourage your child to fill in the blank. When she does, praise her.Listen for rhymes in songs that you know or hear on the radio, TV, or at family or other gatherings. Sing the songs with your child.Around the home, point to objects and say their names, for example, clock. Then ask your child to say as many words as she can that rhyme with the name. Other easily rhymed words are ball, bed, rug, sink, and toy. Let your child use some silly, or nonsense, words as well: toy—joy, boy, woy, loy, doy, hoy, noy.Say three words such as go, dog, and frog, and ask your child which words sound the same—rhyme.If your child has an easy-to-rhyme name, ask her to say words that rhyme with it: Jill—bill, mill, fill, hill.If a computer is available, encourage your child to use it to play rhyming games.Children around the world have fun with rhyming games and songs. Here are a few rhyming books to look for: Shake It to the One That You Love the Best: Play Songs and Lullabies from Black Musical Traditions by Cheryl Warren Mattox; Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky; Diez Deditos:10 Little Fingers and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America by Jose-Luis Orozco; and My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202Notes:

Starting a home library for your child shows her how important books are. Having books of her own in a special place boosts the chance that your child will want to read even more.

What You Need

Books from bookstores, garage sales, flea markets, used book stores, and sales at your local libraryA bookcase, a cardboard box, or other materials to make a place for books

What to Do

Pick a special place for your child’s books so that she knows where to look for them. A cardboard box that you can decorate together might make a good bookcase. Or you might clear one of the family bookshelves and make a special place for her to put her books.Help your child to arrange her books in some order—her favorite books, books about animals, holiday books. Use whatever method will help her most easily find the book she’s looking for.Borrow books from your local library. Go to the children’s section and spend time with your child reading and selecting books to take home and put in her special place. You might even have a box or space just for library books, so that they don’t get mixed up with your child’s own books.Encourage family members and friends to give books to your child as presents for birthdays and other occasions.When you and your child make your own books, you can add them to your home library.When collecting and reading books are a part of family life, you send your child a message that books are important, enjoyable, and full of new things to learn.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

Books with words or actions that appear over and over help your child to predict or tell what happens next. These are called “predictable” books. Your child will love to figure out the story in a predictable book!

What You Need

Predictable books with repeated words, phrases, questions, or rhymes.

What to Do

The first activities in the list below work well with younger children. As your child grows older, the later activities let him do more. But keep doing the first ones as long as he enjoys them.

Read predictable books to your child. Teach him to hear and say repeating words, such as names for colors, numbers, letters, and animals.

Pick a story that has repeated phrases, such as this example from The Three Little Pigs:

Wolf Voice: Little pig, little pig, let me come in.

Little Pig: Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!

Wolf Voice: Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!

Your child will learn the repeated phrase and have fun joining in with you each time it shows up in the story. Pretty soon, he will join in before you tell him.

Read books that give hints about what might happen next. Such books have your child lifting flaps, looking through cut-out holes in the pages, “reading” small pictures that stand for words (called “rebuses”), and searching for many other clues. Get excited along with your child as he hurries to find out what happens next.

When reading predictable books, ask your child what he thinks will happen. See if he points out picture clues, if he mentions specific words or phrases, or if he connects the story to something that happens in real life. These are important skills for a beginning reader to learn.

Predictable books help children to understand how stories progress. A child easily learns familiar phrases and repeats them, pretending to read. Pretend reading gives a child a sense of power and the courage to keep trying.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

Sharing the alphabet with your child helps her begin to recognize the shapes of letters and to link them with the sounds of spoken language. She will soon learn the difference between individual letters—what they look like and what they sound like.

What You Need

Alphabet books (see Resources for Children, page 51)

ABC magnets

Paper, pencils, crayons, markers

Glue and safety scissors

What to Do

The first activities in the list below work well with younger children. As your child grows older, the later activities let her do more. But keep doing the first ones as long as she enjoys them.

With your toddler sitting with you, print the letters of her name on paper and say each letter as you write it. Make a name sign for her room or other special place. Have her decorate the sign by pasting stickers or drawing on it.Teach your child “The Alphabet Song” and play games with her using the alphabet. Some alphabet books have songs and games that you can learn together.

Look for educational videos, DVDs, CDs, and TV shows such as “Between the Lions” that feature letter-learning activities for young children. Watch such programs with your child and join in with her on the rhymes and songs.

Place alphabet magnets on your refrigerator or on another smooth, safe metal surface. Ask your child to name the letters she plays with and to say the words she may be trying to spell.

Wherever you are with your child, point out individual letters in signs, billboards, posters, food containers, books, and magazines. When she is 3 to 4 years old, ask her to begin finding and naming some letters.

When your child is between ages 3 and 4, encourage her to spell and write her name. For many children, their names are the first words they write. At first, your child may use just one or two letters for her name (for example, Emily, nicknamed Em, uses the letter M).

Make an alphabet book with your kindergartner. Have her draw pictures (you can help). You can also cut pictures from magazines or use photos. Paste each picture in the book. Help your child to write next to the picture the letter that stands for the object or person in the picture (for example, B for bird, M for milk, and so on).

When you show your child letters and words over and over again, she will identify and use them more easily when learning to read and write. She will be eager to learn when the letters and words are connected to things that are part of her life.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

Continue talking with your older child as you did with your baby. Talking helps him to develop language skills and lets him know that what he says is important.

What to Do

The first activities in the list below work well with younger children. As your child grows older, the later activities let him do more. However, keep doing the first ones as long as he enjoys them.

Talk often with your toddler. When feeding, bathing, and dressing him, ask him to name or find different objects or clothing. Point out colours, sizes, and shapes.

Talk with your child as you read together. Point to pictures and name what is in them. When he is ready, ask him to do the same. Ask him about his favourite parts of the story, and answer his questions about events or characters.

Teach your toddler to be a helper by asking him to find things. As you cook, give him pots and pans or measuring spoons to play with. Ask him what he is doing and answer his questions.

Whatever you do together, talk about it with your child. When you eat meals, take walks, go to the store, or visit the library, talk with him. These and other activities give the two of you a chance to ask and answer questions such as, “Which flowers are red? Which are yellow?” “What else do you see in the garden?” Challenge your child by asking questions that need more than a “yes” or “no” answer.

Listen to your child’s questions patiently and answer them just as patiently. If you don’t know the answer to a question, have him join you as you look for the answer in a book. He will then see how important books are as sources of information.

Have your child tell you a story. Then ask him questions, explaining that you need to understand better.When he is able, ask him to help you in the kitchen. He might set the table or decorate a batch of cookies. A first-grader may enjoy helping you follow a simple recipe. Talk about what you’re fixing, what you’re cooking with, what he likes to eat, and more.

Ask yourself if the TV is on too much. If so, turn it off and talk!

Talking and having conversations with your child play a necessary part in helping his language skills grow.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

Baby Talk

Babies love hearing your voice. When you answer your child’s sounds with sounds of your own, she learns that what she “says” has meaning and is important to you.

What to Do

Talk to your baby often. Answer her coos, gurgles, and smiles. Talk, touch, and smile back. Get her to look at you.Play simple talking and touching games with your baby. Ask, “Where’s your nose?” Then touch her nose and say playfully, “There’s your nose!” Do this several times, then switch to an ear or knee or tummy. Stop when she (or you) grows tired of the game.

Change the game by touching the nose or ear and repeating the word for it several times. Do this with objects, too. When she hears you name something over and over again, your child begins to connect the sound with what it means.Do things that interest your baby. Vary your tone of voice, make funny faces, sing lullabies, and recite simple nursery rhymes. Play “peek-a-boo” and “pat-a-cake” with her.

It’s so important to talk to your baby! With your help, her coos and gurgles will one day give way to words.

Books and Babies

Books For babies from age 6 weeks to 1 year

Sharing books is a way to have fun with your baby and to start him on the road to becoming a reader.

What You Need

Cardboard or cloth books with large, simple pictures of things with which babies are familiarLift-the-flap, touch-and-feel, or peek-through play books

What to Do

Read to your baby for short periods several times a day. Bedtime is always a good time, but you can read at other times as well—while you’re in the park, on the bus, or even at the breakfast table (without the food!).As you read, point out things in the pictures. Name them as you point to them.Give your baby sturdy books to look at, touch, and hold. Allow him to peek through the holes or lift the flaps to discover surprises.

Babies soon recognise the faces and voices of those who care for them. As you read to your baby, he will begin to connect books with what he loves most—your voice and closeness.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

What follows are ideas for language-building activities that you can do with your child to help her build the skills she needs to become a reader. Most public libraries offer free use of books, magazines, videos, computers, and other services. Other things that you might need for these activities are not expensive.

For each set of activities, we give an age span that suggests when children should try them. From one activity to the next, we continue to talk about children at different stages: babies (birth to 1 year), toddlers (1 to 3 years), preschoolers (ages 3 and 4), and kindergartener/early first-graders (ages 5 and 6). Remember that children don’t always learn the same things at the same rate. And they don’t suddenly stop doing one thing and start doing another just because they are a little older. So use the ages as guides as your child learns and grows. Don’t consider them to be hard and fast rules.

You’ll see that your role in the activities will change, too. Just as you hold up your child when he’s learning to walk, you will help him a lot when he’s taking his first language steps. As he grows, you will gradually let go, and he will take more and more language steps on his own. That is why in most of the activities we say, “The first activities . . . work well with younger children. As your child grows older, the later activities let him do more.”

As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child’s later success. Enjoyment is important! So, if you and your child don’t enjoy one activity, move on to another. You can always return to any activity later on.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

Writing and reading go hand in hand. As your child is learning one, he is learning the other. You can do certain things to make sure that he gets every opportunity to practice both. When he is about 2 years old, for example, give your child crayons and paper and encourage him to draw and scribble. He will have fun choosing which colors to use and which shapes to make. As he holds and moves the crayons, he will also develop muscle control. When he is a late toddler or early preschooler, he will become as eager to write as he is to read.

Your preschool child’s scribbles or drawings are his first writing. He will soon begin to write the alphabet letters. Writing the letters helps your child learn about their different sounds. His very early learning about letters and sounds gives him ideas about how to begin spelling words. When he begins writing words, don’t worry that he doesn’t spell them correctly. Instead, praise him for his efforts! In fact, if you look closely, you’ll see that he’s made a pretty good try at spelling a word for the first time. Later on, with help from teachers (and from you), he will learn the right way to spell words. For the moment, however, he has taken a great step toward being a writer.

Reading in Another Language

If your child’s first language is not English, she can still become an excellent English reader and writer. She is on her way to successful English reading if she is beginning to learn many words and is interested in learning to read in her first language. You can help by supporting her in her first language as she learns English. Talk with her, read with her, encourage her to draw and write. In other words, do the same kinds of activities just discussed, but do them in your child’s first language.

When your child first enters school, talk with her teacher. Teachers welcome such talks. They even have sign-up times early in the year, though usually you may ask for a meeting at any time. If you feel that you need some support in meeting with the teacher, ask a relative, neighbour, or someone else in your community to go with you.

When you do meet, tell the teacher the things that you are doing at home to strengthen your child’s speaking and reading in her own language. Let the teacher know how important you child’s reading is to you and ask for support for your efforts. Children who can switch back and forth between languages have accomplished something special. They should be praised and encouraged as they work for this achievement.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

The books that you pick to read with your child are very important. If you aren’t sure of what books are right for your child, ask a librarian to help you choose titles.

Introduce your child to books when she is a baby. Let her hold and play with books made just for babies: board books with study cardboard covers and thick pages; cloth books that are soft and washable, touch-and-feel books, or lift-the-flap books that contain surprises for your baby to discover. Choose books with covers that have big, simple pictures of things that she sees every day. Don’t be upset if at first your child chews or throws a book. Be patient. Cuddling with the child as you point to and talk with great excitement about the book’s pictures will soon capture her interest. When your baby becomes a toddler, she will enjoy helping to choose books for you to read to her.

As your child grows into a preschooler and kindergartener, the two of you can look for books that have longer stories and more words on the pages. Also look for books that have repeating words and phrases that she can begin to read or recognise when she sees them. By early first grade, add to this mix some books designed for beginning readers, including some books that have chapters and some books that show photographs and provide true information rather than make-believe stories.Keep in mind that young children most often enjoy books about people, places, and things that are like those they know. The books can be about where you live or about parts of your culture, such as your religion, your holidays, or the way that you dress. If your child has special interests, such as dinosaurs or ballerinas, look for books about those interests.

From your child’s toddler years through early first grade, you also should look for books of poems and rhymes. Remember when your baby heard your talking sounds and tried to imitate them? Rhymes are an extension of that language skill. By hearing and saying rhymes, along with repeated words and phrases, your child learns about spoken sounds and about words. Rhymes also spark a child’s excitement about what comes next, which adds fun and adventure to reading.Show Your Child That You Read

When you take your child to the library, check out a book for yourself. Then set a good example by letting your child see you reading for yourself. Ask your child to get one of her books and sit with you as you read your book, magazine, or newspaper. Don’t worry if you feel uncomfortable with your own reading ability. It’s the reading that counts. When your child sees that reading is important to you, she may decide that it is important to her, too.

Learning about Print and Books

Reading together is a perfect time to help a late toddler or early preschooler learn what print is. As you read aloud, stop now and then and point to letters and words; then point to the pictures they stand for. Your child will begin to understand that the letters form words and that words name pictures. He will also start to learn that each letter has its own sound—one of the most important things your child can know when learning to read.

By the time children are 4, most have begun to understand that printed words have meaning. By age 5, most will begin to know that not just the story but the printed words themselves go from left to right. Many children will even start to identify some capital and small letters and simple words.

In late kindergarten or early first grade, your child may want to read on his own. Let him! But be sure that he wants to do it. Reading should be something he is proud of and eager to do and not a lesson.

How Does a Book Work?

Children are fascinated by how books look and feel. They see how easily you handle and read books, and they want to do the same. When your toddler watches you handle books, she begins to learn that a book is for reading, not tearing or tossing around. Before she is 3, she may even pick one up and pretend to read, an important sign that she is beginning to know what a book is for. As your child becomes a preschooler, she is learning that

A book has a front cover.

A book has a beginning and an end.

A book has pages.

A page in a book has a top and a bottom.

You turn pages one at a time to follow the story.

You read a story from left to right of a page.

As you read with your 4– or 5–year-old, begin to remind her about these things. Read the title on the cover. Talk about the picture on the cover. Point to the place where the story starts and, later, where it ends. Let your child help turn the pages. When you start a new page, point to where the words of the story continue and keep following the words by moving your finger beneath them. It takes time for a child to learn these things, but when your child does learn them, she has solved some of reading’s mysteries.

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

Every step a child takes toward learning to read leads to another. Bit by bit, the child builds the knowledge that is necessary for being a reader.

Over their first 6 years, most children

Talk and listen.

Listen to stories read aloud.

Pretend to read.

Learn how to handle books.

Learn about print and how it works.

Identify letters by name and shape.

Identify separate sounds in spoken language.

Write with scribbles and drawing.

Connect single letters with the sounds they make.

Connect what they already know to what they hear read.

Predict what comes next in stories and poems.

Connect combinations of letters with sounds.

Recognize simple words in print.

Sum up what a story is about.

Write individual letters of the alphabet.

Write words.

Write simple sentences.

Read simple books.

Write to communicate.

Read simple books.

Children can take more than one of these steps at the same time. This list of steps, though, gives you a general idea of how your child will progress toward reading.

Talking and Listening

Scientists who study the brain have found out a great deal about how we learn. They have discovered that babies learn much more from the sights and sounds around them than we thought previously. You can help your baby by taking advantage of her hunger to learn.

From the very beginning, babies try to imitate the sounds that they hear us make. They “read” the looks on our faces and our movements. That’s why it is so important to talk, sing, smile, and gesture to your child. Hearing you talk is your baby’s very first step toward becoming a reader, because it helps her to love language and to learn words.

As your child grows older, continue talking with her. Ask her about the things she does. Ask her about the events and people in the stories you read together. Let her know you are listening carefully to what she says. By engaging her in talking and listening, you are also encouraging your child to think as she speaks. In addition, you are showing that you respect her knowledge and her ability to keep learning.

Reading Together

Imagine sitting your baby in your lap and reading a book to him for the first time. How different from just talking! Now you’re showing him pictures. You point to them. In a lively way, you explain what the pictures are. You’ve just helped you child take the next step beyond talking. You’ve shown him that words and pictures connect. And you’ve started him on his way to understanding and enjoying books.

While your child is still a baby, reading aloud to him should become part of your daily routine. Pick a quiet time, such as just before you put him to bed. This will give him a chance to rest between play and sleep. If you can, read with him in your lap or snuggled next to you so that he feels close and safe. As he gets older, he may need to move around some as you read to him. If he gets tired or restless, stop reading. Make reading aloud a quiet and comfortable time that your child looks forward to. Chances are very good that he will like reading all the more because of it.

Try to spend at least 30 minutes each day reading to and with your child. At first, read for no more than a few minutes at a time, several times a day. As your child grows older, you should be able to tell if he wants you to read for longer periods. Don’t be discouraged if you have to skip a day or don’t always keep to your schedule. Just get back to your daily routine as soon as you can. Most of all, make sure that reading stays fun for both of you!

Reading books with their children is one of the most important things that parents can do to help their children become readers.

What Does It Mean?

From the earliest days, talk with your child about what you are reading. You might point to pictures and name what is in them. When he is ready, have him do the same. Ask him, for example, if he can find the little mouse in the picture, or do whatever is fun and right for the book. Later on, as you read stories, read slowly and stop now and then to think aloud about what you’ve read. From the time your child is able to talk, ask him such questions about the story as, “What do you think will happen next?” or “Do you know what a palace is?” Answer his questions and, if you think he doesn’t understand something, stop and talk more about what he asked. Don’t worry if you occasionally break the flow of a story to make clear something that is important. However, don’t stop so often that the child loses track of what is happening in the story.

You could say that your baby starts on the road to becoming a reader on the day she is born and first hears the sounds of your voice. Every time you speak to her, sing to her, and respond to the sounds that she makes, you strengthen your child’s understanding of language. With you to guide her, she is well on her way to becoming a reader.

To understand the connection between a child’s early experiences with spoken language and learning to read, you might think of language as a four-legged stool. The four legs are talking, listening, reading, and writing. All four legs are important; each leg helps to support and balance the others.

This series gives you information about how you can use your language skills to build your child’s skills. It offers suggestions about how you can:

Talk with and listen to your child.

Read together with her.

Help your child learn about books and print.

Encourage your child’s early writing efforts.

Help your child learn to read if his first language is not English.

Prepare your child for success in school.

We all know that older children can do things that younger ones can’t. This is true for reading, too. To help show when children can take certain learning steps, this booklet ties the discussion and activities to four age groups:

Baby = birth to 1 year

Toddler = 1 to 3 years

Preschooler = ages 3 and 4

Kindergartner/early first-grader = ages 5 and 6

Keep in mind, however, that children don’t all learn at the same pace. And even though they learn new things, they may have “old favorites”—books and activities from earlier years—that they still enjoy. You are the best person to decide which activities will work best for your child.

Children become readers step by step. By age 7, most children are reading. Some take longer than others, and some need extra help. When children receive the right kind of help in their early years, reading difficulties that can arise later in their lives can be prevented. This booklet offers steps that you can take to start your child on the way to becoming a successful reader. It is an adventure that you will not want to miss, and the benefits for your child will last a lifetime.“As parents, the most important thing we can do is read to our children early and often. Reading is the path to success in school and life. When children learn to love books, they learn to love learning.” - Laura Bush

Adapted from U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Intergovernmental and Interagency AffairsHelping Your Child Become a ReaderWashington, D.C., 20202

Learning English is better started early. Reading is one of the best ways to improve grammar and vocabulary acquisition.

Here we present some pointers towards activating reading in children.

HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD BE READY TO READ AND READY TO LEARN?

Talk to your infant and toddler to help him learn to speak and understand the meaning of words. Point to objects that are near and describe them as you play and do daily activities together. Having a large vocabulary gives a child a great start when he enters school. Read to your baby every day starting at six months of age. Reading and playing with books is a wonderful way to spend special time with her. Hearing words over and over helps her become familiar with them. Reading to your baby is one of the best ways to help her learn. Use sounds, songs, gestures and words that rhyme to help your baby learn about language and its many uses. Babies need to hear language from a human being. Television is just noise to a baby. Point out the printed words in your home and other places you take your child such as the grocery store. Spend as much time listening to your child as you do talking to him. Take children's books and writing materials with you whenever you leave home. This gives your child fun activities to entertain and occupy him while traveling and going to the doctor's office or other appointments. Create a quiet, special place in your home for your child to read, write and draw. Keep books and other reading materials where your child can easily reach them. Help your child see that reading is important. Set a good example for your child by reading books, newspapers and magazines. Limit the amount and type of television you and your child watch. Better yet, turn off the television and spend more time cuddling and reading books with your child. The time and attention you give your child has many benefits beyond helping him be ready for success in school.HOW DO I KNOW A GOOD EARLY READING PROGRAM WHEN I SEE ONE?

Every teacher is excited about reading and promotes the value and fun of reading to students. All students are carefully evaluated, beginning in Kindergarten, to see what they know and what they need to become good readers. Reading instruction and practice lasts 90 minutes or more a day in first, second and third grades and 60 minutes a day in Kindergarten. All students in first, second and third grades who are behind in reading get special instruction and practice. These students receive, throughout the day, a total of 60 extra minutes of instruction. Before or after-school help is given to all students beyond first grade who need extra instruction or who need to review skills. Summer school is available for students who are behind at the end of the year. Reading instruction and practice includes work on letters, sounds and blending sounds. Students learn to blend letters and sounds to form new words. Learning new words and their meaning is an important part of instruction. Students have daily spelling practice and weekly spelling tests. The connection between reading and writing is taught on a daily basis. Students write daily. Papers are corrected and returned to the students. By the end of second grade, students write final copies of corrected papers. Corrected papers are sent home for parents to see. All students are read to each day from different kinds of books. Students discuss what they read with teachers and other students. All students have a chance to read both silently and aloud in school each day and at home every night. Every classroom has a library of books that children want to read. This includes easy books and books that are more difficult. The school library is used often and has many books. Students may check books out during the summer and over holidays.SIMPLE STRATEGIES FOR CREATING STRONG READERS

Without doubt, reading with children spells success for early literacy. Putting a few simple strategies into action will make a significant difference in helping children develop into good readers and writers.

Through reading aloud, providing print materials, and promoting positive attitudes about reading and writing, you can have a powerful impact on children's literacy and learning.

Invite a child to read with you every day. When reading a book where the print is large, point word by word as you read. This will help the child learn that reading goes from left to right and understand that the word he or she says is the word he or she sees. Read a child's favorite book over and over again. Read many stories with rhyming words and lines that repeat. Invite the child to join in on these parts. Point, word by word, as he or she reads along with you. Discuss new words. For example, "This big house is called a palace. Who do you think lives in a palace?" Stop and ask about the pictures and about what is happening in the story.Read from a variety of children's books, including fairy tales, song books, poems, and information books.Reading well is at the heart of all learning. Children who can't read well, can't learn. Help make a difference for a child.THE FIVE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF READING

Reading with children and helping them practice specific reading components can dramatically improve their ability to read. Scientific research shows that there are five essential components of reading that children must be taught in order to learn to read. Adults can help children learn to be good readers by systematically practicing these five components:

Recognizing and using individual sounds to create words, or phonemic awareness. Children need to be taught to hear sounds in words and that words are made up of the smallest parts of sound, or phonemes. Understanding the relationships between written letters and spoken sounds, or phonics. Children need to be taught the sounds individual printed letters and groups of letters make. Knowing the relationships between letters and sounds helps children to recognize familiar words accurately and automatically, and "decode" new words. Developing the ability to read a text accurately and quickly, or reading fluency. Children must learn to read words rapidly and accurately in order to understand what is read. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. When fluent readers read aloud, they read effortlessly and with expression. Readers who are weak in fluency read slowly, word by word, focusing on decoding words instead of comprehending meaning. Learning the meaning and pronunciation of words, or vocabulary development. Children need to actively build and expand their knowledge of written and spoken words, what they mean and how they are used. Acquiring strategies to understand, remember and communicate what is read, or reading comprehension strategies. Children need to be taught comprehension strategies, or the steps good readers use to make sure they understand text. Students who are in control of their own reading comprehension become purposeful, active readers.Adapted from U.S. Department of Education, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, Educational Partnerships and Family Involvement Unit, Reading Tips for Parents, Washington, D.C., 2003. Used with permission

One of the best ways for someone learning English to extend their vocabulary is by reading. However, choosing the right materials is very important.

Reading English texts can be enjoyable if you choose the proper texts and materials. What you actually choose to read is determined by your interests and your English standard. Books can be fun but can be intimidating because they are so long. They can also be expensive. If you don't have the time (or the money) to read books then reading news articles is a good way to learn. Many international newspapers publish on the internet for free, so you will be able to find one that is suitable for your interest and proficiency.

Focused reading can help you get the most out of the activity. Language is all about communication and reading is no different. Before you start, ask yourself why you are reading? Is it to learn new vocabulary or to focus on idioms? Are you looking for English grammar features?

Secondly, look over the outline of the text. If it’s a book perhaps look at the chapter headings or the book cover to see if it really interests you. For a newspaper article the headline will usually tell you a lot about what to expect within the whole text. If the headline doesn’t appeal then skip over until you find a more interesting one!

Scanning and skimming are two very similar techniques for extracting information. Scanning involves searching through the text for specific information such as phrases or words which are behind the purpose of your reading (for instance, trying to find “export” whilst reading texts to build your vocabulary for your economics course Skimming entails looking over the whole body of text in order to find the general meaning.

So how do you handle those new words you have no idea about? Well, don’t immediately reach for a dictionary – paper, electronic or online! Try and focus on getting the meaning from the word in context. Read further on to see if you can figure out the meaning that way. Or go to the beginning of the paragraph and read again. Nine times out of ten you will be able to get the general meaning without using an English dictionary. One amazing thing about the English language is their use word stems with prefixes and suffixes attached at the front and end of the word. Many of these prefixes and suffixes are similar, and you are likely to be able to guess the meaning from a new word that you already know.

One of the beautiful things about reading news articles is that you may already know the content of the story because you have read it in your own local language newspaper, or on the television. Actually knowing what the news story is about means that building up your vocabulary becomes so much easier.